Hong Kong -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The United States ' plans to beef up its missile defenses against North Korea are likely to inflame tensions that are running high over Pyongyang 's nuclear program , China said Monday .

`` Bolstering missile defenses will only intensify antagonism , and it does n't help to solve the issue , '' Hong Lei , a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs , said at a regular news briefing in Beijing .

The United States will deploy additional ground-based missile interceptors on the West Coast as part of efforts to enhance the nation 's ability to defend itself from attack by North Korea , Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced Friday .

The U.S. announcement came after North Korea recently threatened a pre-emptive nuclear attack on South Korea and the United States in response to stepped-up U.N. Security Council sanctions over its latest nuclear test last month .

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The threat from the regime of young leader Kim Jong Un was part of a recent barrage of vitriolic statements , which included a vow to nullify the armistice agreement that stopped the Korean War in 1953 .

Military and White House officials have said current U.S. missile defenses are adequate for the present level of threat , and President Barack Obama said in an interview with ABC News last week that he did n't think North Korea could carry out a missile attack on the United States .

`` They probably ca n't , but we do n't like the margin of error , '' Obama said .

The 14 additional interceptors , to be installed by 2017 , would bring the total to 44 , according to the Pentagon .

`` The reason that we are doing what we are doing and the reason we are advancing our program here for homeland security is to not take any chances , is to stay ahead of the threat and to assure any contingency , '' Hagel said .

Concerns about regional stability

But Hong said Monday that China believes that the anti-missile issue `` matters to global strategic balance and regional stability . It also matters to strategic trust between relevant countries . ''

North Korea on Saturday responded to the U.S. announcement by criticizing what it described as the Americans ' `` hostile policy '' and saying it wo n't negotiate with them over its nuclear program .

Its nuclear weapons `` serve as an all-powerful treasured sword for protecting the sovereignty and security of the country , '' a Foreign Ministry spokesman said , according to the North 's state-run Korean Central News Agency . `` Therefore , they can not be disputed ... as long as the U.S. nuclear threat and hostile policy persist . ''

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalated in December , when North Korea successfully launched a long-range rocket , putting a satellite in space for the first time .

The United States and other Western nations called the launch a test of ballistic missile technology , and the U.N. Security Council tightened sanctions on the regime in Pyongyang .

North Korea responded angrily to the U.N. measures , vowing to carry out its third nuclear test . It made good on its promise last month , prompting the U.N. Security Council to expand sanctions further , which in turn set off the latest flurry of fiery North Korean rhetoric .

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CNN 's Dayu Zhang in Beijing contributed to this report .

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China says U.S. anti-missile plans do n't `` help to solve the issue ''

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North Korea has recently threatened to attack South Korea and the United States

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The Pentagon plans to add missile interceptors on the West Coast